


desire and denial

by heytherejones



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Innocent Betty, Literally SOOOO much smut and I don't care, Smut, more angst than there should be but I’m not really sorry about it, not so innocent jughead, there is smut from the get go but the feelings are a slowish burn?, your typical fic where betty asks him to take her virginity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-12
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-03-03 19:19:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13347813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heytherejones/pseuds/heytherejones
Summary: elizabeth cooper; innocent and naive to the highest degree, lets archie andrews, her all too manipulative and egotistical “best friend” who she can’t help being irrevocably in love with, use her as a cover so he can keep his forbidden summer fling with the girl his father doesn’t approve of; veronica lodge, elizabeth’s supposed other “best friend.” jughead jones has always been this familiar face, a friend from archie’s childhood past and they have long since grown apart. she’s watched him change over the years, sherpa jackets turning to hardened leather and pen between his fingers being replaced by a cigarette. little does she know, he notices her too. and they soon come to realize they’re not so different. elizabeth is done with being innocent and she’s determined to have him help her change that.





	1. one

**Author's Note:**

> sooo happy to get back into things. really excited about this fic. hope you guys enjoy the ride.

The all too familiar bell rings, the hinges of the door sighs, the overplayed retro music vinyl Pop bought ten years ago continuously turning and filling the unusually silent room. She sits practically hunched over, her palm pressed to her forehead, elbow crushing into the table, her lips pushing together to blow that fray piece of a hair that somehow managed to escape her tight ponytail after just sitting here for hours on end. She’s _god damn_ bored out of her mind and going home is not an option. Because in theory, she’s on a date with her middle school crush and “ _boyfriend_ ”, Archie Andrews. Except that when she looks up her eyes don’t meet with red hair and endless freckles littering his expanse of skin. That’s much harder to see when he isn’t actually there. And yeah, she’d call Veronica to hang out with her instead of sitting here as time stands still. But that’s also much harder when she’s the other person she’s covering for. _She’s having a fucking midlife crisis at the age of seventeen_ . Kevin had told her time and time again that she needed to start doing things for herself. That she was throwing her life away on two superficial people that throw all caution to the wind while she’s sitting here, swirling her straw around in her strawberry milkshake. She’s innocent, she’s naive. She has an image to keep up. She’s been kissed once. By Archie in the second grade. And Kevin tells her that shouldn’t even count. She’d complain, but the thing is, she’s Elizabeth Cooper. She is the all time, greatest friend there is. Constantly having her ears open and always ready to fill those around her with encouragement. Pushing down the feelings that suffocate her has always been her own complicated version of normal. And so it doesn’t matter that she’s been in love with Archie Andrews for just about _forever_ and that he won’t give her a second glance. It doesn’t matter that Veronica Lodge, her best friend who not only knows this, but has seen the way she has endlessly pined after him, is probably at this very moment under him, on top of him, in anyway shape or form just pressed against him. It doesn’t matter that her mother believes she’s dating and in love with Archie and that tonight he took her to Pop’s to buy her that ridiculously and intoxicatingly sweet milkshake she loves. Because although none of it may be true, _except for the fact that she still has that milkshake she loves, paying for it out of her own pocket,_ her friends are happy. And that should be all that matters.

 

Her hand slides down her cold glass that's sweating in this stuffed up encasement of a diner. She lazily takes a sip before slumping back into her seat, letting her head fall back and against the scratched up red, vinyl booth as she closes her eyes. She sighs for what seems like the millionth time tonight, eyes then snapping open at the sound of the bell ringing once more followed by the sound of _his_ roughed up Doc Marten boots squeaking against the linoleum floor. She doesn’t have to check the time to know that it’s late. It must be at least past nine now. Because she’s watched him before. And she knows that he _never_ comes in until a few hours after Pop stops serving the dinner special, because that’s when the crowds and rush of the football team have died down. He’s quiet though the appearance he gives is loud. He’s wearing that black leather jacket he almost is never seen without unless an unbearably hot summer night. And it’s only nights like that when she gets to see that tattoo he’s had since he was 15.

 

 _Jughead Jones._ His name was familiar on her tongue. She’d know him once. Well not like Archie had once known him. They’d all been best friends at a time. But things _do_ change, people _do_ change. Or in this case, _Archie changed._

 

So she didn’t know much about him anymore, for they haven’t talked since sophomore year. But she was very observant, and so she had known some. Small things like; he only takes his coffee black and that he’s still a writer. That he grew up on the Southside of Riverdale and from that obvious tattoo on the center of his upper right arm that he was still a Serpent. And though her mother has always told her to stay away from the trailer park trash from the Southside, she was a little curious. And she wanted to get closer. Have a look. Because it’s just like when her mother would tell her not to touch the whistling tea kettle on the stove when she was little because it was too hot. _And she would go and do it anyway because her mother had not only just told her not to but she had to see for herself, how hot could it really be?_

 

He drags one foot behind the other, not even looking up as he signals a finger to Pop at the counter, who’s already pouring him a cup from the fresh pot of coffee he just made minutes before he walked in. He’s got a laptop tucked under his left arm and his hair is going in every which direction, no longer tamed by that beanie he once wore when he was in sophmore year. And there’s a few bruises littered purple and blue, here and there, some from his cheek down to his jaw and up to the cut just above his right eyebrow. There’s a split in his lip that he runs his tongue over as he puts his laptop down at the one of many spinning bar stools that line the counter. Pop puts the cup in front of him just as he takes a seat, not wasting a minute to bring the well needed cup of caffeine to his mouth, wincing just slightly as his bottom lip comes in contact with the rim of the mug. And he sighs, pushing the screen of his laptop open and running his fingers through his hair every minute in a nervous like habit. And he’s beautiful. _In a tortured soul kind of a way_ . And yeah she may have known him since she was four. _But it didn’t mean she couldn’t look_.

 

Her posture straightens and she leans forward on her elbows again, catching her straw between her lips, wondering how she’s never noticed how beautiful he is before. She watches long enough that he feels the back of his neck growing hot, though he doesn’t dare to turn around. He’s used to it. _Being stared at like he didn’t belong._

 

It’s no more than a minute later when the stool next to him is spinning to face the counter and the lingering scent of strawberries and cream feels like its surrounding him. He doesn’t have to turn his head to know that she’s sitting there. He can already see out of the corner of his eye as she rests her hands curled under her chin as she leans forward on the counter in front of her. Her hair is pulled back in that tight ponytail she’s worn every single day since they were four, and she’s wearing this light blue sundress that buttons up the front, green eyes wide and eyelashes so long they kiss her cheek every time she blinks. He hasn’t spoken to her in so long that he doesn’t really remember what her voice sounds like, so long that it wouldn’t make a difference even if he had remembered, sure it would have changed by now. But her lips part and at the first word his head turns to her slowly.

 

“Pour me one of those, would’ya Pop?” Her perfectically pink, manicured finger points to the coffee pot he’s still holding. He’s half stunned by the angelic sound of her voice, having definitely changed since the last time he’d heard it, _when they were all in that awkward stage_ , and half stunned that she’d just asked Pop to pour her a cup of black coffee and she can drink it without wincing at the bitter taste. He’s still looking at her, and she catches him as she lowers the cup from her lips. He can’t take his eyes off of her.

 

“What is it, Jones?” Her lips curl into a small smile.

 

“What is it that you want, Cooper?” He huffs out a puff of breath, and her fingers are drumming against the countertop. Maybe it's the fact that her childhood crush and best friend are probably doing it in the back of Fred’s pick-up truck right now, or the couple that’s been sucking face for a solid ten minutes in the booth at the back of the diner. Or the look he is giving her right now. Which one it is doesn’t even matter. All she knows is that she snaps. She’s sick of covering for someone who will never love her. She’s sick of being stuck to this image she can’t seem to leave behind. Her mood changes within the time span of seconds. Tears are on the brim of her eyes. And if he didn’t know her all those years ago, didn’t know that she was as emotional as she is, he would’ve sworn she was drunk. But he does know her. Just slightly. Just enough to know that Betty Cooper doesn’t get drunk. But she may be on the verge of losing it.

 

“ _Jughead_ -” She begins, her voice cracking.

 

“ _Elizabeth_ -” Her cup is placed back in front of her and she slumps over the counter, her head being propped up by her right hand as she tries to hold it up likes it's dead weight. And whatever she is about to say, he knows he probably won’t be ready for it. Because they haven’t talked in years. He’s forgotten how to be there for her.

 

“Am I naive?” She looks at him, dough-eyed. Her bottom lip begins to quiver before she traps it under her teeth.

 

“Oh...I-” _God_ , he can’t breathe right now.

 

“That means yes, doesn’t it? _God...what is it about me?_ ” Her focus turns to the table, staring straight down. And he’s hoping she doesn’t cry. He definitely can _not_ handle that.

 

“Do you want me to answer that?” He clears his throat, taking the hint as she looks back to him. His eyebrows knit together, creating an expression of absolute pity.

 

“Okay... _uh_ . You’re just...kind of... _innocent_ , Betts.” He throws in her old nickname in hopes of comforting her. He’s surprising himself tonight, really. The fact that he hasn’t snapped at her yet is impressive. Because Archie drifted away from him all of sophomore year, taking Betty with him. But she’s here and she’s upset and she’s talking to him. _She’s acknowledging that he exists_ . As _innocent_ leaves his lips, she winces, like it pains her.

 

“Is that why he likes _her_ ? Cause she’s _not...innocent_ ?” He already knew who _her_ was. The whole school does. Most everyone knows the secret except for Fred Andrews. And Alice Cooper. The only people that matters if they know or not. Hiram Lodge had been the one who had shot Fred two years ago, and he’d be damned to hell before he let his own blood knowingly engage with the daughter of a Lodge.

 

“Could be-” The leather jacket on his back just got ten times heavier. _Why is being a teenager in a gang easier than talking to her about this right now?_

 

“But I mean... _what is it_? Is it the way I dress?” Her eyes look like they’re so desperately searching his for an answer.

 

“ _Maybe_? But also...I mean-” How does he say this? It’s a valid question he has. And he hasn’t spoken to her for two years, so what does he know. Maybe her innocence died somewhere in between then.

 

“What is it, Jug?”

 

“Have you...are you...I mean have you had-” _Jesus Christ,_ he feels like he’s choking.

 

“Jug?” She inches forward a little, as if getting closer will suffocate the answer right out of him.

 

“ _Sex_?” Her eyebrows knit together in confusion. And she slumps back into her chair a bit, her arms crossing over her chest.

 

“Oh...well...no. What does that have to do with anything?” She’s purely struck with confusion. And he’s a little glad they’ve grown apart. _Because it doesn’t make him feel so weird for wanting to fuck the shit out of her, or in this case...innocence out of her right now._ Though it still doesn’t sit right.

 

“Inexperience builds innocence I guess. Have you ever even been kissed?” If he knows her well, he knows that Archie kissed her in the second grade for tutoring him and helping him pass. He was as dense then as he is now. But besides that, he isn’t sure.

 

“Yes. Well...I mean, Archie.” It seems like she has to think about it, and it almost comes out like it was a question.

 

“When?”

 

“The 2nd grade. _Kevin_ says it doesn’t count.” She says his name in a higher tone of voice than she does the rest of the sentence, showing her annoyance.

 

“ _Right_ .” His tongue hits the roof of his mouth to make a short ‘tsking’ noise. The corner of his lips turn into a hint of a smile and he shakes his head a little back and forth at the memory. And Kevin is right, though he doesn’t know him well he can at least say he has some sense. _Does kissing Archie at any age really count?_

 

“Didn’t realize being a virgin was still such a big thing to people.” She huffs out, uncrossing her arms and letting them rest in front of her, twisting the bottom of her dress, feeling the fabric with her fingers. She can’t seem to look into his eyes right now. So anywhere _but_ will have to do.

 

“ _Well, it’s not_ . Not to _everyone_. Virginity is a social construct, Betts.” He doesn’t really think twice about rubbing his thumb against the soft skin of her arm, his hand sliding gently up her shoulder.

 

“But, I mean...if it’s not a big deal to you...why haven’t you-” His hand drops as the sentence dies on his lips, the look she’s giving him causing him to do so.

 

“C’mon Jug…” She trails off. As if she was asking... _well who would ever sleep with me?_

 

“What’s your body count?” Her head perks up for a moment and he winces at the question.

 

“I’d really like to be drunk to have this conversation with the girl I used to share baths with.” Though he isn’t sure there's enough liquor in the world to be having this conversation with _her_.

 

“Jug!” _God, why is she so good at getting what she wants? Why is it so fucking hard to say no to her?_

 

“Three.” _Okay,_ she thinks. That’s not too bad. Better than what she’s heard, than what’s been going around the hallways ever since Southside joined Riverdale High.

 

“Who?” _It’s the eyes, It definitely has to be the eyes. They widen when she looks at him and they’re filled with such understanding and admiration and holy shit he’s never seen a prettier shade of green_.

 

“Oh God-” He groans, something he’d wished he’d never have to tell her about to come up, about to kill the admiration she has for him in her eyes right now.

 

“ _Juggie, c’mon_ !” She whines, the smile evident on her lips. She’s _so_ enjoying this. And he’s glad he can amuse her for the next fifteen seconds before he breaks her heart.

 

“Alright, okay. Alright. Toni Topaz. And Sabrina Spellman.” She nods, her head turning as if she was lifting her ear toward him. She can count. That was _two._ He said _three_. He’s purposefully missing one.

 

“ _And…_?”

 

“And I don’t want to say the last one.” He takes a long sip of his now room temperature coffee.

 

“What?! _Why?_ ” She frowns, kicking her pink flats against the bottom of his boots. He smiles against the rim of the mug before setting it down again.

 

“Cause you might get upset…”

 

“ _Jug_ , did you sleep with Archie?” She questions playfully.

 

“ _No_. Though I bet he wishes.” He teases her and she kicks the bottom of his boot again.

 

“Well?”

 

“Veronica.” The name feels like venom. Like he wants to spit it out. It leaves a bad taste in his mouth.

 

“ _Oh_.” Her face falls. His heart feels a twinge of pain.

 

“Told you.” He nudges back at her foot. She smiles a sad smile.

 

“I’m not...I just...I mean, _God, what’s so great about her_?” Her eyes blink almost rapidly, as if to prevent herself from crying.

 

“Do I answer that?” He’s not good in these types of situations and she could _so_ kill him with those green eyes and the way she’s looking at him right now.

 

“ _Relax, I’m kidding_ . I wouldn’t know, I was drunk. Relapse in judgement.” She seems a little relieved at that. At least not _everyone_ thinks she’s great. And now she feels like a bitch. Tearing down her best friend. Though...what kind of friend was Veronica, _really?_

 

“You’d have sex with me, _right?_ ” _Anddd that’s what he was afraid of._ If he had a mouth full of coffee he’d have probably accidently spit it out at her. But his mouth runs dry, and so it’s more like he’s about to choke on air right now.

 

“Ask that question louder, _please_ .” He bites sarcastically, seething through his teeth. He looks around as if to make sure no one heard. And the sympathetic smile and nod Pop gives him from his spot at the cash register lets him know that he did. _Good God she was going to kill him._

 

“ _Juggie?_ ”

 

“I’m the wrong person to be asking this about-” He tries, though she’s quick to cut him off.

 

“ _No,_ you’re _exactly the right one!_ C’mon Jug-” Her eyes are pleading.

 

“Betty we haven’t talked in years-” He says the first thing he’s thinking. And although it’s true, it doesn’t really feel that way.

 

“ _Then…_ ” She looks to him, the words dying on her lips.

 

“What?” He tries to coax it out of her, leaning forward just a bit.

 

“ _Why does it feel like we never stopped?_ ” The sound of the bell ringing that once was drowned out in the background, is now deafening. And Archie is seen just behind Veronica as he holds the door open, the dying summer and awakening fall breeze coming in like a rush, a breath of fresh air. Archie signals her with a single hello, Veronica attached to his hip, messing with the collar of his letterman jacket.

 

“Ready for me to drive you home, Betty?” His voice cuts through the once building tension and Betty’s eyes slowly divert away from Jughead’s, meeting with the redhead at the door.

 

“ _Oh_ ...yeah.” She speaks quietly. She feels hazy. _And this is the first time she can ever recall wishing Archie had stayed out with her so called best friend longer._

 

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Veronica’s eyes meet hers for the first time since she’s walked through the threshold. It’s more of a command rather than a question.

 

“Of course.” She nods at her before she looks back to him, rising slowly to her feet, not thinking twice about the kiss she presses to his cheek.

 

“ _Thanks anyway, Jug_.”

 

~~~~~~~

 

The car ride home is mostly silent, Betty’s head resting against the window, Archie looking ahead at the road, dazed by lust, smelling of Veronica’s Chanel perfume.

 

“Thank you, Betty, again...for all of this.” He looks to her just for a few seconds, admiration in his eyes.

 

“It’s no problem, Arch...I mean you’re happy, _right?_ ” Except that it is a problem. Because she’s totally in love with him. At least she has been...she _was. Was she still?_

 

“ _Immensely_ .” _She can’t love someone who doesn’t love her, forever. He hardly looks at her. He’s looking at the road ahead of him like he’s more in love with it than he is with her. And Kevin’s voice won’t shut up in her head. To start doing things for herself. She won’t be seventeen forever._

 

“What’s with you?” She doesn’t notice the smile on her face until he asks, pulling into her driveway by the time she has an answer.

 

“Nothing...just have some things to take care of. Bye Arch.” He shakes his head at her, amused as she almost trips her way up the front steps.

 

And when she goes inside she closes the door perfectly in place, pressing her back to it as if she’d shut him out, left him behind her. The way she was just about to leave everything else behind her. And she sighs, her mother raising a brow as she looks up from the book she’s got her nose in.

 

“Good date with Archie?”

 

“ _You’ve no idea_ . Night mom. Love you.” She kicks her flats off, leaving them at the mat by the front door, running up the stairs before Alice can call after her to put them where the rest of the shoes are. _She doesn’t care. She’s already made up in her mind what she wants...needs to do. No one can change her mind right now._

 

_Except...for, maybe herself._

 

Because then she closes her bedroom door behind her and she’s suffocated by the immense amount of the pastel colors that never bothered her before. But this is all she’s known. _Follow the rules, do what people tell you, make the others around you happy._ And she’s shaking her head. _She can’t do this._

 

_She can’t...can she?_

 

Because... _Archie Andrews...telling her that he’d marry her when they turn 18, the look of adoration in his eyes whenever she does something that makes him happy._

 

But when she looks across her room and out the window that looks right into his room, seeing him doesn’t tug at her heart the way that it used to, the way the idea of it all does. And that’s all it is. The idea of being actually appreciated by someone who’ll give her more than what she thinks she deserves. And she knows then,

 

_that yes...she can._

 

~~~~~~~

 

Her anxiety practically swallows her whole as she taps her pencil on the chipped, wooden desk, in time with each second of the ticking clock that might as well be ticking away the seconds until she explodes. She’d only texted him to meet her three minutes ago. And he was probably at his locker so, she’s calculated the time it probably took for him to realize she had texted him, for him to respond and start making his way. So really it’s only been two minutes, and the Blue and Gold office is on the other side of the building, opposite of where the Senior lockers are. So rationally she knows he’ll be here any second. _But if that’s the case why does she still feel like she’s been waiting for seven fucking hours. God, her nerves are so shot._ She hadn’t slept most of the night. _Because...I mean, how do you ask a question like this?_ Especially when she hasn’t talked to him for two years straight except for the other night when she was an emotional mess, crying at Pop Tate’s counter because she’s a naive virgin. _Oh my God, she’s going to die of embarrassment._

 

But she yells at her brain to shut up, because she spent all of last night thinking about it and she won’t live with herself if she doesn’t follow through. And so he’s all about spent an entirety of nine seconds in the room and gotten out half a hello before she cuts him off.

 

“He-”

 

“ _I need you to have sex with me_ .” His mouth opens and then closes before finally opening again to speak. She had literally full force crashed into his train of thought. And she’s sitting there, perched on the desk while kicking her legs back and forth, head cocked to the side as if she’d just asked him what class he had for first period, _not for him to take her virginity_ . Her hair is falling softly over her shoulders for a change and she looks...dare he say... _relaxed_.

 

“ _Okay._ We need to teach you how to start a conversation, Betts.”

 

“ _Jug_.” Her voice drops to that pleading tone that works too well on him.

 

“We’re still on this?” He finally manages to get his legs to move, dropping his bag onto the desk next to her. And he’s standing close enough for her to reach out and pull him by the sleeves of his leather jacket, to stand between her now spreading legs. He can tell the movement has caused her dress to rise slightly and he’s surprised at the restraint he has when he doesn’t look down. _Though he does wonder what color underwear she’s wearing. And he’s decided that they’re probably white, cause well...that is the virgin cliche._

 

“Well I had initially asked if you _would_ . Now I’m asking if you _will_. Grammar is important Jug. I just need-” Her eyes don’t meet his at first, focused on her own fingers as she fixes the collar of his jacket. And he doesn’t know where to put his hands. So he eventually just presses them flat on the desk on either side of her thighs. And she tugs him closer. To the point where if she moves an inch, he’d be kissing her.

 

“ _Need_ is a strong word.” He swallows hard, hard enough that he’s sure she heard it.

 

“ _Juggie_ …” She whines.

 

“I... _why_ ?” He mentally groans. This is already something that he _wants_ to do. And for the sake of the possibility of her regretting it, he’s hesitant.

 

“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll feel different?” Her fingers run along his shoulders, back to the collar of his jacket and giving it a slight tug.

 

“ _You don’t sound so sure_ . Look...Betts, it’s not going to change _anything_ -” _Except that he’ll fall more madly in love with her than he already has._

 

“ _Juggie, please. C’mon._ I’m an old friend. Don’t I deserve a favor?” Her eyes finally look into his. _So wide. So fucking innocent._ His restraint is wearing thin. _It’s hanging by a fucking thread._

 

“What kind of friends have you made in the past two years that this now constitutes as a favor to you?” Her bottom lip pouts out. And he wants to bite it between his teeth and snap it back into place.

 

“ _I...I’m gonna think about it...okay_ ?” He swallows once more, forehead pressed to hers, feeling as she gives a slight nod. He knows he won’t be thinking for too long. She knows it too, though she does what she planned anyway, _just in case._

 

“ _Okay, Juggie_ .” Her voice drops to a whisper, and she’s so close now that he can feel her say the words against his lips. And she ever so lightly presses herself into him. _And the thread fucking snaps._

 

“Mhm... _okay_.” He agrees. He feels her inhale sharply at the answer, pushing gently into the small of her back as their lips press together hard enough to bruise. She smiles against his lips before she can mumble,

 

“ _God...men are so weak._ ”

  



	2. two

_There’s no getting past Kevin Keller._ And so when Betty Cooper walks out of third period English on Monday morning, hair down and falling over her shoulders, he quickly snatches her to the side with a fistful of her bag she has slung over her left shoulder. If she didn’t know him, his knit together eyebrows and mouth in a straight line would tell her he might’ve been concerned. _But she does know him._ And she knows that he’s looking for something; _an answer._ One she isn’t ready to give him.

  
  
“What’s with you?” She feigns innocence at his question. A look she pulls off so well. But then his expression softens and his hands are on either of her shoulders, eyes giving her a pointed look. _She’d tell him, just not yet_. So, vague answers will have to do for him for now.

  
  
“Doing things for myself, Kev.” His eyebrows raise at that, his lips starting to curve into a smile, about to ask her what the hell she means when she all too quickly starts making her way down the hall. Her eyes quickly scan the lockers lining the wall, not surprised to see Archie standing there with Reggie on his left and Veronica on his right. He gives her a slight nod before turning back to his girlfriend...and then quickly whipping his head back. The sight of him still hurts a little bit. She _was_ in love with him forever and that won't change in two days, but she'd gotten better at realizing why they wouldn't be good for each other. _Most of it having to do with him._

  
  
“ _Your hair._..you look great today Betty.” Last week she would’ve blushed at that, would’ve gone weak in the knees and collapse to the floor. This week she can control herself, she replies with a timid,

  
  
“Thanks, Arch.” His eyes meet with hers for another moment or two, disrupted when Veronica scoffs under her breath beside him, trying to subtly, _but failing_ , elbow him in the ribs.

  
  
“We still on for tonight?” Betty’s head cocks to the side, arms crossing over her chest.

  
  
“Yeah... _why?_ ” Veronica’s tone is short, cutting Archie off.

  
  
“No reason, just wondering. Got plans too...so it’ll work out.” His eyebrow raises at that.

  
  
“You need me to pick you up somewhere?” He’s quick to respond before Veronica can cut him off again.

  
  
“Nah, he can drop me back off at Pop’s. I’ll meet you guys there whenever you’re done.” He doesn’t know who _he_ is, and he doesn’t bother asking. His lips part as though he was about to say something, before closing again and just nodding instead, Veronica scowling and narrowing her eyes at him like he’d been a toddler, caught doing something he wasn’t meant to be doing.

  
  
“Great. Same time as always?”

  
  
“Yup.” Veronica answers for him again, smacking her lips together, popping the ‘p’ at the end of the word. Betty leaves them behind her, Archie confused, choking on words, Veronica seething with steam coming out of her ears.

  
~~~~~~~  
  
She’d never been one to care too much about appearance. And there’s nothing she’d really change about herself for anyone else, it had to be about her. _But still, she’d like to look nice for him._

 _  
_  
So when she gets home she drops her backpack off at the foot of the bed, and strips down to her underwear. The only thing that’s really noticeably changed is that her hair is down. Something with which she struggled this morning, pulling her hair back, tying it up and taking it down and repeating until her scalp hurt before finally deciding it’d be best to just let it be. But, even then, looking in the mirror... _she’s bored_. There’s nothing exciting about the way she looks. And she begins to wonder if she’d be Jughead’s type. Or... _does Jughead even have a type? Was Jughead her type?_ She wasn’t exactly sure. Though...he was kind of gorgeous. In that brooding, James Dean kind of a way. And she surprises herself with how much she’s noticed about him. Like that one part of his hair that always curls down over his forehead, sometimes gets in the way of his eyes. _God, those eyes_. The way they vary from ice blue to the kind of blue that looks like the ocean after a storm, no in between. Freckles litter his skin in all the right places. His jaw is sharp. His lips always full, pouted. He smells like nicotine and Old Spice and his mouth tastes like the bubblegum toothpaste he keeps in the trailer for when Jellybean comes to visit. He’s so genuine with her, and kind. And he doesn’t have to be. She hadn’t spoken to him in two years. And still...he’s doing her this... _favor._

  
_So, yeah. He could be her type._

 __  
  
Her mind gets back on track to the main task at hand, her eyes diverting from the floor back to the mirror she’s standing in front of. Her fingertips skim just slightly over her skin, over her stomach, thighs, hips. Sure she could fill out in some places, lose some in some places. Though she’s more focused on the fact that her bra is covered in polka dots and in no shape or form matching the white underwear she’s wearing. It’d never been a problem till now. No one else was seeing what was underneath. And though she does have underwear that isn’t white, she figures using her biggest insecurity as a weapon could come in handy. He seems to be interested in her just the way she is. Why change anything?

  
  
_Except for her bra. She has to change that._

  
  
She switches it out for a white one, buttons her yellow sun dress back up, smooths the wrinkles out with her hands. And with one last glance over her shoulder into the mirror, and Archie honking the horn on Fred’s truck a million times over, she’s out the door.

  
  
Her heart is fluttering. And for the first time it’s not because of the smile Archie gives her when she climbs into the passenger seat of the truck. But because she’s going to see _him_. Do things with this boy who’d kiss the scrape on her knee when she was seven and fell on the school playground. And this would possibly change everything. The way she sees him. Though she thinks she already has changed that by kissing him, by already thinking about this so much. And when she’s overthinking and all in her head she realizes, _yeah, she probably could of asked just about anyone else to do this for her. Because then it would be so much more less complicated._ But then again, why would she ask anyone else? She was comfortable with him, she trusted him. Sure she hasn’t talked to him in two years, but talking to him again made it feel like she never stopped. _She doesn’t think she’ll ever stop beating herself up for living two years of her life where he wasn’t in it._

_  
_ _  
_ _But she’ll sure as hell make up for it now._

__  
  
“Hey.” She relaxes into the seat, clicking her seatbelt into place as Archie looks her over.

  
  
“Hey. Am I️ dropping you off somewhere or is this guy picking you up from Pop’s?” He starts to pull out of her driveway, his arm outstretched and resting on the seat behind her.

 

  
“Actually...yeah. Um, do you think you could drop me off at Jug’s house?” There is a few seconds of silence, she swears he might’ve stopped breathing.

  
  
“ _Jug_...as in Jug...Jughead Jones?” His voice gets a little louder after repeating his name.

  
  
“Yeah...” Betty trails off, unsure of what to say.

  
“May I ask... _why?_ ”

  
  
“He’s my friend Arch, he was once yours too.” She snaps quickly at him, irritated that he was showing so much interest in who she was hanging out with now that’d she stopped making heart eyes at him.

  
“ _Alright_ , Alright. Was just wondering.” The rest of the ride is silent. He can’t think of anything to say to her.

  
  
He nods at her quick ‘thank you’, lips curved into a forced half smile when they arrive. And she doesn’t give him a second glance as she climbs out of the truck and approaches the trailer door. Jughead must’ve heard the slam of the car door, for there’s a signaling bark from Hotdog and the door opens before her curled fist even has a chance to knock.

  
  
Archie doesn’t pull out of the lot for a good solid two minutes even after Jughead had pulled her inside, gripping her elbow. He’s too wrapped up in the fact that Betty is still associating with him, to even move. But the incessant buzzing of his phone with Veronica’s name flashing across the screen snaps him out of his daze. With a huff of annoyance he finally starts backing away from the Jones’ trailer.

  
  
Jughead closes the door behind Betty after pulling her forward and into the living room. She couldn’t drag herself to put one foot in front of the other. _Because holy shit. He looked good right now._ Though nothing was different from how he usually looks. Jeans and a white t-shirt that he always wears under his jacket. But the jacket is hanging on the back of the dining room chair and so his arms are on display and _oh my god_. She’s kissed him once and now she’s looking at him in a whole new light. _God_ she can’t believe she’s never looked at him this way before.

  
  
Her eyes haven’t left his since she’s walked through that door, she feels like they’re locked together and if she looks away she’ll explode into the thousands of butterflies she’s feeling in her stomach right now. His back is to the couch, and he’s just standing there, eyes moving focus to her lips.

  
  
“ _Hey_.” She finally gathers herself enough to speak. It comes out like a whisper and she’s smiling hard enough that even if you weren’t looking at her, you would know. You could hear it in her voice. His hold slides from her elbows to her arms, shoulders, neck. And then he’s holding both sides of her face and she’s looking at his lips while he’s looking at hers, breath hitching in her throat as he softly presses them together, closing all space between them. _And she feels so fucking giddy,_ smiling against his mouth, the room silent besides the sound of Hotdog padding around the hallway and the wet noise their lips make every time they kiss.

 

  
“ _Hi_.” He’d pulled back just enough to mumble against her lips, their foreheads still pressed together, his hands cradling her face, her hands held over his hands. She’d like to push him back onto the couch, have the both of them be more comfortable while doing this. _But she isn’t brave enough, she isn’t exactly there yet_. It doesn’t matter, he makes the move first. He slowly lowers backward, looking up to her as she smiles down at him. Her feet feel as though they’re glued to the floor, but his hands have moved down to her hips, tugging her gently.

  
  
“ _C’mere_.” He whispers. She nods softly, one knee hitting the couch before the other does, a leg on either side of him. She feels him exhale, relaxing underneath her as their lips meet again. She feels nervous, but so at ease at the same time, and her mind wanders a little. _It’s surprising, because this doesn’t feel weird. And she thought at first that maybe it would._ _  
_ What once was soft and slow starts to build. Their lips are pressing harder together and they’re kissing with more urgency, one hand tangling into the hair at the nape of his neck, the other pressed to his chest, both of his held firmly on her waist. And then his mouth parts slightly and his tongue is parting her lips and meeting with hers and _holy shit...that’s new._ This coil is starting to tighten in the pit of her stomach and she feels the need to unravel it before she explodes.

  
  
“Are-“ She’d meant to get out a full sentence, _but his lips are really soft and she thinks kissing him might be her new favorite hobby,_ so she interrupts herself by kissing him again, her throat unwillingly releasing a high pitched whimper as his tongue finds its way back into her mouth.

  
  
“Are we...gonna-“ She manages to wrench her mouth away long enough to get out another few words, but he interrupts her this time, kissing her again. But he knows where the sentence is going, pulling back to look at her.

  
  
“We should um-“ His thumb traces along her jaw, moving to press against her swollen bottom lip, pulling it down and letting it snap back into place.

  
  
“What?” Her eyes close, his thumb pushing under her jaw this time, tilting her head upward just slightly, his lips skimming down the column of her throat.

  
  
“It’s just...you’ve never...done this before...we should just...take it... _slow_.” He pauses every few seconds, stopping to firmly kiss over her neck.

  
  
“Oh, so...are we-“ Her heart sinks a little bit.

  
  
“Maybe not today.” He pulls back to look at her, her head leveling with his again.

  
  
“Well...is there much else to do?” She asks innocently, to which he laughs at, blush now rising to her cheeks.

  
  
“ _Tons_.” She looks confused at that, his heart hammering at the innocence of her expression. He didn’t really know what to start her off with. Because before the other day, she hadn’t even ever been kissed. And she wants to go all the way. And he knows that she isn’t a patient person. _But he’d like for at least some of this to be enjoyable for her._ There’s no way in telling what her first time will be like for her, but he’s hoping warming her up in some way instead of throwing her into this full throttle, will put her at ease. _Hoping_.

  
  
“Like _what_?” Her sentence comes out in a whisper. His hold on her waist tightens, pulling her further up his lap.

  
  
“Here-“ He pulls her hip forward, pushing back gently and pulling forward again. The material of his jeans causes friction between her thighs and through the thin material of her underwear.

  
  
“Wh-What are you doing.” Her breathing is starting to shallow, her eyes focusing downward, both of her palms pressing to his shoulders as he guides her.

 

  
“Rock back and forth...like this.” Her heart beat is starting to feel like it’s between her legs, warmth spreading throughout her entire body as he pulls her forward and pushes her back again and again. Her hand moves back to thread through his hair, the other arm wrapping around his neck as she starts feel herself limp forward. Her eyes finally close, a whimper rising from the back of her throat as she buries her face between his neck and shoulder. The air around them is starting to feel thick, heavy. It’s hard to breathe.

  
  
“Feel good?” His voice is soft in her ear, a hand moving to cradle the back of her neck, fingers tangling through her hair. His other hands stays held firmly on her waist, but she’s worked up the courage to start moving her hips on her own. Even shy and slightly embarrassed...she doesn’t think she could stop. Fire is starting to build in the pit of her stomach and this, not enough but all too much friction, is too good to stop. She nods, face still hidden.

  
  
“Y-yeah.” He’s unbelievably hard underneath her now as she starts moving with more urgency, his hand pressing into the small of her back to keep her going.

  
  
“Can you get off like this?” She wouldn’t know. She’d never touched herself, had never been as turned on as she is right now. The idea of it always made her uncomfortable. _But right now...holy shit she can’t believe she’s been missing this feeling._

 _  
__  
_ “Have-have you ever-“ He takes the absence of her answer as one, tugging her hair gently to pull her back from burying her face in his neck, pressing his lips to hers almost hard enough to bruise. He’d always known she was innocent. _But this innocent? Jesus Christ._

  
  
“ _Jug_ -“ Her eyes blink open slowly, locked with his, hooded as she feels herself getting higher on this feeling, stomach tightening and blood pumping at lightning speed through her veins.

  
  
“It’s okay...” He kisses her again, eliciting a moan, passing from her lips to his.

  
  
“ _Juggie_ -“ She traps her bottom lip between her teeth, hips still rolling, warmth still spreading. She can hardly fucking breathe, her breath coming in short pants out of her mouth.

  
  
“Just let go...c’mon.” She moves slightly faster, pressing down harder, burying her face in his neck again as she starts to lose herself. He can feel her snap, coming and shaking in his arms, whimpering in his ear and leaving him breathless, her arms tightening their hold around his neck. He holds onto her just as tightly, feeling the warmth of her release even between two layers of clothes. Minutes pass before she can open her eyes, before breathing doesn’t feel like the worlds hardest task.

  
  
“It gets better than _that_?” He can feel her lips move against his neck as she speaks. He chuckles, head thrown back against the couch, relaxing with her against him, eyes focused on the ceiling.

  
“You have no idea.” She laughs at that quietly, muffled against his skin. He sits up slowly, her posture straightening from laying limp against him, her eyes trailing down to where he can’t seem to tear his away. He pushes her dress up slightly, thumbs skimming the soft skin of her thighs, eyes glued to between her legs, an obvious wet spot not only on her underwear, but one she’d stained his jeans with too. 

 

“ _God-_ “ A groan vibrates through his throat, breath hitched.

 

“Oh...sorry.” Her eyebrows knit together, blush flushing her cheeks, seeming concerned and embarrassed all at once. His lips curve into a dazed half smile.

 

“ _Don’t be._ ” He kisses her then, just once quickly before his lips trail along her jawline, moving downward in no particular rush. Lips part, sucking a mark into her skin, moving to start another, but she snaps out of her daze.

 

“ _Jug_...you can’t do that.” She protests, though making no actual move to stop him. _It didn’t really matter, cause her mother did think she was in a relationship. But that didn’t mean she’d be okay with her seeing that she’s participating in activities like this._

 

“You can say Andrews left it.” She feels him smile against her now bruising skin.

 

“ _You’re...you’re a jerk_.”

 

“Y’know, you can say I’m an ass Betty. Don’t have to be so shy around me after you just-“ She cuts him off, the words dying on his lips as her fingers tug at the hair at the nape of his neck, forcing him to look up at her, her lips pressing to his just barely.

 

“Shut up, you ass.”

 

~~~~~~~

 

The sun has long since set by the time Archie picks her up from Pop’s, Jughead having dropped her off just minutes ago. To which he’d wait with her, even offered to, but Betty would rather not have him have to put up with seeing Archie after the way he’s treated him. Betty climbs in the truck, lips still slightly swollen, material of her dress laced with the scent of him. Archie doesn’t look at her at first, eyes on the road ahead as he pulls out of the parking lot, muttering a quick hello.

 

“Hey.” She responds back. And Betty was always in a good mood, most times. Around him anyway. So nothing was too different. _But something was completely different at the same time._ Something in her voice. So he diverts his eyes away from the road and looks to her for a few seconds, immediately singling in on the dark patch of purple, freshly bruised skin on the center of her throat, another patch peeking out just further down her neck, slightly covered by her hair.

 

“ _What’s that_ ?” He knows what it is. He just can’t wrap his head around it. He can’t believe it. _Elizabeth Cooper has a hickey on her neck. And why is it making him this mad?_

 

“What?” Her eyes meet his briefly, only to follow where he’s looking, her hand flying quickly to run her fingertips over the sensitive skin.

 

“ _That...on your neck_ , Betty.” He’s speaking through his teeth. She can tell he’s getting upset. And a week ago this would be all she ever wanted, Archie getting jealous over her. But now that it’s actually happening, fury starts to build. She can’t believe him. She can’t believe she spent years pining after him when he wouldn’t give her a second glance. She can’t believe that the second she finds comfort in somebody else he finally looks in her direction.

 

“Oh-“

 

“ _Jughead Jones_?” His voice is starting to raise. Why does he care so goddamn much?

 

“Yeah... _so_?” She never understood the problem he had with him. What grew so quickly inside of him over the time period of the summer he stopped talking to him that he started to be filled with such hatred.

 

“Are you sleeping with him?” _Not yet, technically. Though he didn’t need to know that._

 

“What’s it to you if I am?”

 

“ _Betty-_ “ He shakes his head at that. Like he can’t believe her. Like he’s talking down to her, as if he was her father, as if he got to tell her what to do.

 

“No, seriously! You’re sleeping with Veronica!” Her nails start to dig into her palm so hard that her knuckles turn white and the freshly pierced skin lets the blood draw.

 

“He’s trailer park trash, Elizabeth! He’s a Serpent!” She scoffs. _What did Archie think made him so much better than Jughead?_ He spent his entire sophomore year weeping over whether he should sing or play sports and drowning his sorrows by fucking a cougar. He knew nothing of hardship. Not like Jughead did. Living on the Northside was like a sick joke. Fathers were killing their sons, people were killing themselves, participating in drug cartels. And somehow Southside was at fault.

 

“ _Screw you._ ”

 

“I’m not covering for you if your mom finds out about that.” He takes one hand off the wheel to gesture toward her neck.

 

“ _You aren’t serious_ ?” She can not fucking believe him. She didn’t have to keep this secret for him. She could have told Fred the second it started and let Archie stew in his own misery, not being able to fuck his feelings away in Betty’s at one point, “ _best friend_.” She knew now these people weren’t her friends. These people were sucking the life out of her.

 

“ _Dead_.” He finally turns to her as he pulls into her driveway, making a short stop, causing her to jolt slightly in her seat.

 

“ _Great_! Then you won’t mind me telling Fred you’re sleeping with the daughter of the man who shot him?” He rolls his eyes at her, like he wouldn’t believe she’d actually do it.

 

“ _Fuck you, Betty. Get out._ ”

 

“No, _fuck you_ , Andrews. Good luck trying to find someone who’ll cover you and your dirty little secret.” She slams the door behind her and doesn’t bother looking back.

 

_This was it, the last straw. Why would she bother helping him when he’d treat her like this?_

 

As soon as she walks through the front door, she pinches herself so hard that her eyes start to brim with tears. The sadness would be fake, the least she could do was make the tears real.

 

“Mom?” Alice looks up from whatever she’s doing on the couch when it’s nine p.m and Betty has just come home from a ‘date’ with Archie. She notices her daughter’s distraught tone, the single tear that slides down her cheek, and rushes to her side.

 

“Aw, sweetie. What happened?”

 

“Me and Archie broke up.” She looks up into her mother’s eyes, bottom lip trembling in pretend despair.

 

“It’ll be okay.” Alice wraps her arms tightly around her, engulfing her in a hug as she rubs her back soothingly.

 

“ _I know it will._ ”

 

~~~~~~~

 

She’s fortunate enough to not have Archie in most of her classes, having to see him minimally throughout the day. She’s more nervous about spotting Jughead than she is Archie, afraid of what might’ve changed after what they did, _more like what she did to him,_ yesterday. _However, nothing seems to have really changed at all._ She finds him in the Blue and Gold office, finding him there more recently after they’ve started talking again. It was where no one really bothered to go, what used to be a room she had all to herself. Though she’d never mind sharing it with him. He’s leaning back in her usual chair, feet propped up on the desk with a notebook in his lap, pen behind his ear, seeming lost in thought.

 

“ _Hey_.” She speaks carefully, hoping not to startle him.

 

“Oh...hey.” His head snaps up to look at her, eyes a little wide and a little smile prominent on his lips.

 

“What’re you working on?” Her bag drops to the floor beside her feet, tucking her dress under herself as she lowers into the chair in front of the desk.

 

“Just...jotting down some thoughts. What’s up?” He seems to have noticed the uneasiness in her voice, the cautious way she moved.

 

“Nothing, I...got into a fight with Archie last night.”

 

“What about?” The response she doesn’t give tells it all. It was about _him._

 

“Oh.” His face crumpled into confusion and annoyance.

 

“He’s upset.” She tells him the obvious, and he scoffs. Why would Archie be upset? What, he’s realizing now what he could of had? _Or is he just wanting what he can’t have? Though technically Betty wasn’t his. Not yet anyway..._

 

“He does realize he’s sleeping with your best friend?” Betty winces at that.

 

“He’s not mad that I’m seeing someone.”

 

“ _Then_ -”

 

“He’s mad that I’m seeing _you_.”

 

“Oh.” _Ouch_.

 

“We’re not even...I mean we aren’t-” _Together...the missing word. They weren’t even really together._ And Betty knows that. So she can’t explain why him saying that made her heart fall out of her chest and onto the floor.

 

“I guess he just saw and assumed.” She collects herself quickly, trying to seem as though what he just said didn’t bother her.

 

“Right...so, what did you tell him?”

 

“I told him to fuck off.”

 

“What a dirty mouth, Cooper.” He grins at her, a blush staining her cheeks and creeping up her neck.

 

“Shut up, Jug.”

 

~~~~~~~

 

Everything inside of the Jones’ trailer moves at slow motion, while everything else outside moves at lightning speed. Lights are dimmed, his hold on her is tight, like he’s afraid she’ll fall through his fingers and melt into a mess on his living room floor. His skin is soft, hot under her touch. And his mouth tastes like the endless amounts of coffee he never stops consuming. Everything is _slow, warm, comfortable._

 

It was a Friday night, no pressure to wake up early the next morning, no sitting in a booth at Pop’s for hours while waiting for Archie and Veronica who are fucking somewhere in secret. Just her, relaxed in the hold he has around her, their lips going numb.

 

“What’d you tell your mom?” He pulls back barely an inch, she can feel every word he speaks mumbled against her swollen lips.

 

“At Kevin’s...bad breakup...girls night” Every pause in between interrupted by his mouth on hers. He moans against her lips in response. His tongue meets with hers, causing her to inhale sharply, fingers pressed firmly to the side of his neck, turning her head just slightly to delve deeper in his mouth. Her hips have picked up the habit of involuntarily rolling against his every time they make out now, desperately looking for friction of some kind.

 

“ _I wanna touch you_.” He wrenches his mouth away from her before she has the chance to kiss him again, turning his head slightly to the side, her forehead dropping to rest against his cheek.

 

“What about you-” She swallows thickly, fingers nervously playing with the collar of his t-shirt.

 

“This is more about you, Cooper. I can take care of myself.”

 

“But what if _I_ want to take care of _you_?” Her eyes stay focused on her fidgeting fingers, unable to look him in the eye.

 

“Let’s worry about you first, _alright_?” His pointer finger curls under her jaw, turning her to look at him.

 

“ _What’re you gonna do_?” Her pulse quickens, hands gripping tightly at the material of his shirt, clutching it with her fingers.

 

“ _Trust me_.” Her lips part, ready to protest. Though she doesn’t get the chance, his tongue meeting with hers again. Their foreheads are pressed together, noses crushed against one anothers as his hold loosens on her hips, hands sliding down her thighs to reach just under her dress, pushing the material upward slightly. Her heart feels like it’s caught in her throat, pulling back and eyes locking with his as one hand pushes further up between her legs. His eyes never tear away from hers as his middle finger pushes her underwear to the side, breath hitching as he comes in contact with her.

 

“ _Fuck…_ ” His eyes close momentarily, looking darker once he opens them again.

 

“W-what?” Her hands are resting on either one of his shoulders, squeezing tightly at the curse she hears under his breath, her brain insisting she must’ve done something wrong.

 

“ _You’re so fucking wet._ ” Her silence let’s him know she doesn’t really know what to make of him saying that, probably not understanding what it means. He kisses her once, quickly, before answering.

 

“It’s a good thing. Boosts my ego.”

 

“S-shut up.” She blushes profusely, burying her face into his neck, hold tightening on him as he continues to make small movements. She rolls her hips toward his hand, whining in protest as he pulls his hand back, pushing herself forward again. Her breathing is coming out in short, hot pants against his skin.

 

“Jug-” She’s chasing after more and he won’t give it to her, making her head spin.

 

“What?” One hand pulls gently at her hair, her head forcingly tugged from being hidden, buried in his neck, to having her forehead pressed against his. She breathes shallowly, his finger just barely pressing into her. She whines again as he brushes over her clit, pouting against his lips when he pulls away again.

 

“You want something, _ask for it._ ” She stills her movements, unable to tell if he’s being serious. The look in his eyes lets her know that he is, her eyes meeting with his shyly, she can feel her face growing red.

 

“ _Tell me what you need and I’ll give it to you_.” He can sense her hesitation, kissing her in hopes of coaxing an answer out of her.

 

“ _Put it inside me-_ ” She speaks just below a whisper, but he catches it, brushing just barely over her clit again before letting his finger push knuckle deep inside of her. She gasps at the new feeling, entirely overwhelmed at the rush that goes to her head, the warmth in the pit of her stomach.

 

“Like _this_ ?” He speaks in the same low tone as her, their mouths so close to touching that they breathe the same air. He could so easily do anything he wanted to her, _but he wants her to beg, to know what she wants._

 

“Y-yeah…” She’s so fucking tight around just one of his fingers and it’s almost unbearable. He can’t imagine what she’ll feel like when he’s inside of her for the first time. He almost falls apart just at the thought.

 

“ _Juggie-_ ” He’s made her whine under her breath, catch moans in her throat. But he’s never heard her moan his name like _that_ until now. He swears he’s going to explode, the sound urging him to curl is finger just a little further, hitting that spot inside of her. He can tell she’s getting closer, her hips rocking and pushing down onto his hand.

 

“ _Jug-_ ” The short call of his name is a warning, he feels her tighten around his finger even more so. And she can feel everything building, ready to fall apart. _She has never felt this way in her entire life, so in need of one thing._

 

_And then it’s all gone._

 

“W-wh... _no_ , _Jug_!” His finger pulls out of her, barely touching her now. She whines loudly in protest, her head dropping to his shoulder in defeat and exhaustion.

 

“ _Sorry_...did you wanna come?” He feigns innocence, nose nudging with hers when she sits up again.

 

“ _Juggie...that’s so unfair_.” Her bottom lips pouts out. He gently catches it between his teeth, pulling it and letting it snap back before kissing her once.

 

“ _Ask for it_.”

 

“You’re such a jerk.” Her eyes shut tightly, trying to revel in the barely there, not enough, friction that he is giving her.

 

“Ask to come and _maybe_ I’ll let you.” He pushes into her again, easier this time. His finger curls, she cries out, rolls her hips forward, he pulls back. It’s an unbearable pattern.

 

“Juggie _please-_ ” She whines, he holds the back of her neck to keep her close to him, their foreheads pressed together as he works her higher and higher.

 

“Please _what_ ?” He’s taunting her and she fucking hates it. _But she’s never loved anything more._

 

“ _Juggie, please let me come_.” She’s never heard her own voice make the sound she just made, moaning at the way his finger keeps pushing in and out of her, starting to pick up speed, thumb pressing to her clit and rubbing in tight circles.

 

“Why should I let you?”

 

“ _Jug-juggie, I need to. Please, please just let me_ -” He interrupts her by kissing her quickly, nodding slowly in response to her plea.

 

“ _C’mon_ .” He urges her to finally do so, eyes shut tight at the way she feels around him. She buries her face back into his neck, biting into his shoulder and fisting his t-shirt in her hands, her cries muffling against his skin and filling his ears. He kisses the side of her head as she comes, wrapped around his finger, hips rocking to a slow stop. She falls completely limp against him, fingers outstretching, loosening the grip she has on him, her breathing short and shallow against his sweaty skin. His head falls back against the couch, letting out short breaths of his own as he holds her against himself, exhausted, obsessed with the way he just made her fall apart. _This is only the beginning and he’s already in this deep. He’s so fucked._

 

“I can’t believe I just got you to beg me to-“

 

“ _Oh my God,_ I hate you.”

 


	3. three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> been awhile. but we're back in business. more to come soon...

Breathing felt like the easiest thing in the world when she was with him. She felt at ease. And she couldn’t help comparing it to the way she would feel if she was around Archie, fixing the strays of her hair or smoothing the wrinkles out of her dress with her palms.

 

But even physically at ease, she has no peace of mind. After what they did, or more like what he did to her, she fell beside him as he switched on The Shining, her brain like a whirlwind that wouldn’t stop long enough for her to have one clear thought.

 

Yet somehow none of this felt uncomfortable. Like this was now normal. They were friends, but this is just something they do now. They kiss. And they touch. And he makes her fall apart and beg for things she didn’t know she wanted. Then they go back to arguing over what the greatest films of all time are.

 

And her breathing was still a little laboured, unable to even out when out of the corner of her eye she could see as he pushed his finger past his lips. His eyes never leave the t.v screen and his mouth releases his finger with a wet pop. And her eyes have to shut at the sound, at the thought of where his finger had been and now just was. She lets out a shaky breath, loud enough that his eyes flicker away from the screen for just a moment.

 

“When is Alice expecting you home?” His tone expresses no real interest. He wasn’t exactly keen on the idea of her leaving right now. _There was so much more to show her, teach her._

 

_There were so many more ways to ruin her._

 

“Oh...well I told her I was spending the night at Kevin’s...so you could drop me off whenever-” She tries her best to stay completely focused on what’s in front of her, but her eyes betray her when he starts to cut her off.

 

“ _Or…_ ” He trails off with the one word, knowing Betty to be too curious to let whatever question he has go unanswered.

 

“Or?” Her body moves to turn toward him, her dress rising just barely, but just enough. He tries to make the fact that his eyes are having a hard time not looking between her legs less noticeable, forcing himself to look just about anywhere else; her eyes, the t.v, the back of his fucking eyelids.

 

“You could stay.” His tone sounds as though he’s hopeful. Her face flushes at the idea of spending the night with him. The whole cliche plays out in her head. He’ll probably try and offer her the bed while he takes the couch. She’ll have to tell him to get over himself and that the bed is big enough for the both of them. Though...it really isn’t. She’s been in his room before. Maybe years ago. But she knows he probably still has that twin bed they used to smush into together side by side with Jellybean at the foot of it. Because when they were younger it was a well known habit of Betty to crash at the trailer, Jellybean more often than not insisting that she join. But either way she’s still smiling at the thought, being pressed comfortably close to him all night.

 

“Oh...I...okay-” Stumbling over her own words makes her blush even more, the light sound of his laughter filling her ears.

 

“-What are you laughing at?” Her lips involuntarily tug into a small smile

 

“Nothing, I just-” He blows out a breath of air, mildly shaking his head in disbelief. Her eyebrows raise as if to urge him to answer.

 

“-you just begged for me to let you come all over my hand and you can hardly look at me without still blushing.” Saying something as vulgar as that seems to come so easy to him. She doesn’t know if she’ll ever get to that point.

 

“ _Jug!_ ” Her immediate change in tone of voice makes him flinch.

 

“What? Why is that so weird to say? It’s true-” He can’t help another laugh from escaping, her blush now traveling down her neck and chest, disappearing under the thin fabric of her sundress.

 

“You _forced_ me to beg it out of you! And I’ve never done this before...I don’t talk about this kind of stuff.” Maybe he’d be worried he pushed her too far if he wasn’t so wrapped up in how cute she looks when she gets all flustered like this.

 

“The last part is evident, Cooper. And I didn’t _force_ the words out of your mouth. It’s not my fault you wanted to come so bad.”

 

“Yes it-” The look on his face, smirk prominent and eyebrows raised, stops her sentence in its tracks.

 

“You know what? I’m done talking about this.” She huffs, pouting like a child as her arms cross over her chest, her head being thrown dramatically back to rest on the couch.

 

“ _Relax_. You need me to take the edge off again?” His fingers tug gently at the fabric of her dress that rests just above her knee, her eyes closing and head turning in the opposite direction, refusing to look at him as though a toddler would.

 

“ _Nope!_ You’re being a jerk.” She can feel the absence of him next to her, eyes blinking open slowly to see him kneeling in front of her.

 

“Aw, you poor baby.” He lips press to her knee, hands nudging her legs apart.

 

“Jug...what are you doing down there? Get off the floor-” She sits up further, pulling back slightly, her back pressing more firmly to the couch. She isn’t really sure what he’s trying to do, but with the roll of his eyes she can tell he most likely isn’t going to explain.

 

“Shut up, Elizabeth.” His hands push into the back of her knees, pulling her forward and halting her weak attempt to pull away from him.

 

“Well, I’m not gonna beg you to-” She watches with hooded eyes as he pushes her dress up further, his focus completely directed to between her legs, thumb looping into the band of her underwear as he tugs them down.

 

“Wasn’t gonna ask you to.” He looks up to her for just a moment, the slightest hint of a smile still there, annoyingly cheeky as he tucks her underwear into the back pocket of his jeans. He doesn’t plan on giving them back, but he doesn’t tell her that.

 

“Well-” She opens her mouth again, but he immediately cuts her off, simultaneously loving and hating how she almost always has something to say in return.

 

“You’re a real pain in my ass...you know that?” Her eyes widen at his statement, about to yet again open her mouth, all too soon cut off by the image lain out in front of her. His head disappears between her legs and she’s about to ask again, _what the hell is he doing_ , until his tongue peeks out of his mouth and is flat against her.

 

_Oh…_

 

Her fingers thread through his hair, pushing the curls away from his forehead as she looks down at him, lips parted and eyes wide. Her hips try their best to lift from the couch, but he’s quick to push them down, torturously holding them in place. She lets out a whine, her legs held over his shoulders, hips pressed into the couch, his tongue coaxing at her like he was starved, his lips wrapped around her clit.

 

This is all so new and just the littlest amount of something so simple can push her over the edge. She can’t stop herself from coming all over his tongue in just a few short minutes. But he doesn’t stop.

 

“Jug...I-” His movements slow,  but he shows no intention of stopping and oh my god she didn’t know her body could handle this much at once.

 

“ _Juggie_ , I can’t-” His tongue presses hard with each slow stroke. And he keeps looking up at her. His eyes never leave hers. And all she can think about is how beautiful he looks right now.

 

“Just one more, Betts. I promise. Can you do that for me?” She can hardly manage a nod, eyes shut tight again as he presses back into her, fingers digging desperately into her thighs. He finally shows her mercy, stopping himself from shoving her hips back down onto the couch, letting her lift to press herself as close to him as she can get.

 

“Juggie, _please_.”

 

_What is she even asking for? She doesn’t know anymore._

 

“Tell me what you want, Elizabeth.” His thumb circles her clit every time he pulls back to speak, wanting to keep her teetering on the edge of insanity. He knows what she wants. _Of course he does_. But he wants her to be able to ask for it.

 

“I...I-” He watches her stumble over words, her eyes shut tight as her hips lift to chase after his mouth.

 

“Do you wanna come?” He figures he’ll help her along by asking the guiding question.

 

“I wanna come, Juggie. _Please_ , I wanna come so bad.” Her eyes flutter open at the end of her sentence, locking with his as she watches him make the one last movement with his tongue that destroys her. He feels the delicious pressure and pain of her fingers digging into his scalp as she holds his head against her, her body sinking into the worn in couch just seconds later.

 

“Thank you…” Her eyes can barely open, fingers loosening their grip on his hair, her thumb sliding down along the curve of his face and pulling down on his bottom lip. He lets out a content huff of air, turning his forehead to rest on the inside of her thigh. He laughs lightly at her choice of words.

 

“Yeah. Anytime.”

 

The rest of the night carries on with surprising ease. They finish the movie. He gives her a shirt to sleep in. And they cramp themselves into his small twin sized bed. With the little room they have it’s obvious that they’re near on top of each other. But he doesn’t wrap his arms around her like she might have expected him to. And she tries desperately to smother her disappointment.

 

——

 

She was thankful that when she asked Kevin to cover her that he didn’t ask any questions. But god was she naive to think he wouldn’t bombard her the next time she saw him.

 

He doesn’t even open his mouth when he comes up to her. All he does is look at her expectantly with his eyebrows raised.

 

“ _What?_ ” She hopes her tone of voice is sounding as patient as she wants it to.

 

“ _Well_ . To start...I was going to ask where you were when you were supposed to spend the night at my house. I had to get an extra shot of espresso this morning to build up my energy to completely grill you, but on my leisurely walk from my locker to yours I noticed something really strange. _Do you wanna know what that is, Elizabeth?_ ”

 

“W-what?” _Okay, now she’s even more nervous. How would he know about anything?_

 

“That concealer is all wrong for your skin tone. And Forsythe over there is thoroughly giving you a good eye fuck.” _Well, shit._

 

“I-“ She clutches her books to her chest, watching as Jughead disappears around the corner in the direction of the Blue and Gold office.

 

“Are you sleeping with him?” Her eyes grow wide, trying to hush him as she looks anxiously between his face and the blur of people pushing and shoving down the hallway.

 

“ _No!_ ”

 

“Well, _something_ explicit is going on. You’re shaking like a leaf.”

 

“I am not!” _Oh god could her cheeks be anymore red right now?_

 

“Elizabeth Cooper-“ He uses that voice he always does when he wants to act tough. She usually never takes it seriously. But the look he’s giving her right now makes her feel as though she’s cracking under pressure.

 

“Fine! We’ve...done _stuff_.” She says the last word almost in a whisper.

 

“What kind of stuff! I didn’t think Betty Cooper would-“

 

“Well it’s more like he’s doing stuff…” She feels like she’s going to burst into flames. She already blushes enough when it’s just her and Jughead. She can’t also discuss the explicit details of her sexual exploration to her best friend. All this embarrassment will kill her eventually.

 

“He’s only doing stuff for you? _My god_ …” His mouth dramatically gapes open.

 

“What?” Kevin is better at reading into things than she is, always finding the hidden meanings she never seems to see. She knows she’s oblivious. She knows she’s naive. But at least she’s got Kevin here to guide her.

 

“Nothing...I guess I just didn’t peg Jones as the generous type.”

 

“He doesn’t want to make me uncomfortable.” She shrugs casually.

 

“ _Oh…_ ” His lips curve upward into a beaming smiling, his head almost nodding in understanding.

 

“Oh, what?”

 

“He’s in love with you.” He says it like it’s common knowledge.

 

“Kev! Don’t say stupid stuff like that.”

 

“Whatever, Cooper.”

 

——-

 

She spends another night with her head thrown back against the couch, his head between her thighs until it’s all too much and she has to push back on his forehead to pull away from him. She expects the rest of the night to suffocate her with uncomfortable silence. But it doesn’t. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and rises to his feet, reaching to grab an apple off the kitchen counter. And his unflinching ability to carry on like normal as if nothing happened leaves her seriously dumbfounded. She still feels light headed and her mind wanders to what his mouth would taste like if she kissed him right now. _Her_ , probably. And now like fruit too. The thought of wanting to taste him makes her cheeks heat.

 

She thinks back to what Kevin mentioned earlier today. Ever the people pleaser, she feels a strike of guilt, slowly looking over to him, leaning with his back against the kitchen counter. _He’s been doing all of this for her without expecting anything in return?_ She wonders if all guys are like that. Kevin says they aren’t. Archie probably isn’t like that.

 

“Hey, Jug?”

 

“ _Mmm?_ ” He hums, biting into the apple, eyes locked with hers.

 

“When can I touch you?” He chews slowly before swallowing, setting the apple back on the counter. His eyes widen a little in disbelief as he tries to think of what to say.

 

“Betts...you don’t have-“ It takes him awhile to form any type of sentence and he doesn’t even get to finish before her disappointment-laced voice cuts him off.

 

“Do you not want me to?” His eyebrows raise, lips parting before closing as if he’s unsure how to proceed.

 

“That is _definitely_ not the problem.”

 

“What’s the problem?” He can’t think of what to tell her, not quite ready to say, _because if you do I’ll probably fall even more in love with you._

 

“Dunno...I don’t wanna make you uncomfortable I guess. This is kind of about you. I’m not really expecting-“

 

“Well how am I supposed to learn without proper practice?” She pulls her dress back down, smoothing it out from the way it was bunched up to her hips thanks to his doing. Her underwear still lay on the living room floor and he shudders at the way she steps over them while walking in his direction, not bothering with putting them back on.

 

“It’s really up to you, Betts.” He doesn’t know if he wants her to back out or not. Because her touching him is a goddamn dream come true, but then again he can’t afford to lose her after he’s gotten this close to having her. If she ever knew how he felt he doesn’t know how she’d respond. And nothing scares him more than not knowing.

 

“I want to.” _Oh god._

 

“Okay…” Her eyes have always been beautiful. But for some reason, right now as she’s asking if she can touch him, her eyes are so much more wide, innocent.  Her finger trails along the zipper of his jeans, across the guiding seam. Her bottom lip is between her teeth and he almost smiles at the look of concentration she’s expressing through furrowed eyebrows. He can’t stop looking at her. It’s all so fascinating to watch her go blindly into this, with no instruction. He’s never been with someone with so little let alone no experience and he’s almost sick with himself for being so infatuated with the idea of ruining her. She looks so corruptible. And air gets caught in his throat as her knees slowly start to bend, lowering herself to the floor. She looks up at him through those long lashes that kiss her cheek every time she blinks.

 

“Wh-what’re you doing?” His voice is unrecognizable, thick and laced with lust. This time she actually pulls down the zipper.

 

She shrugs at the question before she tugs on his jeans lightly, letting them rest just above his knees. She’s afraid of doing something wrong, but her curiosity is steering her actions more than anything right now. His mind is racing a mile a minute, but just looking at her and his brain has lost the ability to connect with his mouth. He can’t speak, her fingertips feathering so delicately over the material of his boxers.

 

He notices the rise and fall of her chest, the way she must be trying to even her breathing as she grows nervous. She slowly pulls his boxers to rest just where his jeans do and he swears he can see the widening of her eyes. It seems as though she’s almost hesitant as she reaches out to touch the softness of his skin. And she notices his sharp intake of breath, eyeing him quickly before directing her attention back to what’s in front her. He’s not really sure what to make of the way she looks at him, the way she seems as though she’s almost fascinated.

 

Her hand wraps around him, not applying pressure. Just touching with wonder. His eyes are screwed shut so tight that it hurts, but they open at the soft sound of her voice.

 

“Juggie?” He looks down at her, encouraging her to continue. But there’s not much left for her to say. She doesn’t know what to do. And that’s obvious.

 

His hand places over hers, guiding her in a slow up-down motion. His eyes shut again as the sensation builds, pulling his hand away from hers and gripping the edge of the counter so tight that his knuckles start turning white. And then he feels her lips press to the delicate skin.

 

_Holy shit._

 

_He is so screwed._

 

Her lips press more firmly to the tip, her fingers wrapped gently at the base. She presses more kisses down his shaft, her head spinning at the sound of the muffled groan in his throat. She pauses, eyes shut tight as she leans back on the heels of her feet, letting out a puff of air.

 

“Betty?”

 

“Those noises are making me ache, Jug.” She lets out a groan of her own, looking up to him in slow blinks.

 

“Betty…”

 

“I think I’m getting wet again, Juggie…” Her hand disappears between her knees, her mouth parting in a small gasp at the wetness her fingertips meet. She draws her hand back out again for him to see.

 

“ _Jesus Christ-_ “ He swallows thickly. He seriously thinks he could die right now.

 

“Juggie? How is it going to fit inside of me?” Her hand returns to him, gripping more firmly. He feels like he’s going insane. She just touched herself, and the wetness on her fingertips is now in direct contact with his skin.

 

“ _My god_ , Cooper.”

 

“When I’m done can you make me come again, Juggie?” He nods, unable to speak, practically coming on the spot as her lips wrap around him. It’s moments like this when he wishes she wasn’t a virgin so he could absolutely fuck her raw. He wants to bury himself in her, fill her with so much of his come and watch the way he spills out from between her thighs.

 

She places one last kiss before rising to her feet, her hand wrapping tighter around his cock as her stokes build in speed. She shifts her weight onto her tippy toes as she moves to bury her face into his collarbone, getting closer to him as she continues. All of her front is pressed to him with just her hand in between them and she can hear the erratic way he breathes, feel the pounding of his heart. With a curse out to god, knuckles still white as they clutch the counter behind him, he comes all over her hand.

 

Minutes pass before he can even breathe normally again. She stays pressed against him, just as out of breath. And his first move is to look for something to help her clean up, but she’s already ahead of him, picking up her underwear from the living room floor to wipe his come off of her hand.

 

_He swears that his heart stops._

 

——-

 

Trev Brown is one of the sweetest kids in school. He’s always been nice to Betty, giving her answers in Chemistry or holding the cafeteria door open for her. It might easily be obvious to anyone else that he likes Betty. But she never notices a thing. And so when he asks to take her out to Pop’s the next day at school, she’s completely caught off guard.

 

She’s not with Jughead. So she _technically_ has no reason to tell him no, but she wonders if this is something she should mention to Jughead first.

 

“Can I let you know, Trev? I would love to...I just have to see if I can get out of this thing with my mom after school.” _Lie. It’s a total lie._ She’s going to Jug’s after school today. _Maybe she can mention it to him then, get a second opinion?_

 

And that was _totally_ the plan. But somehow, following the new routine, she yet again ends up in his lap, fucking herself on his hand with two of his fingers knuckle deep inside of her. After coming all over his fingers, still out of breath and her face buried into his neck, she finally gathers herself enough to start talking.

 

“Y’know Trev Brown?”

 

“Better be a good reason for talking about another guy while my fingers are still inside of you, Cooper.” He pulls them out just as he finishes the sentence, taking them into his mouth as usual.

 

“He asked me out to Pop’s tonight.” She feels him tense beneath her.

 

“And you said…”

 

“That I’d think about it.” She looks at him nervously.

 

“ _Why?_ ” His eyebrows furrow in confusion.

 

“Why did I tell him I’d think about it?”

 

“No, why are you telling me about it?” _Oh_.

 

“Dunno...guess I just wanted your opinion before I said yes or anything…”

 

“Why do you need my opinion? Do _you_ want to go out with him?”

 

_No. And I want you to tell me that you don’t want me to._

 

“Do _you_ think I should?”

 

“Doesn’t matter what _I_ think about it…we aren’t…” Together. The missing word again.

 

“No. _Right_. I know that.”

 

“ _Alright_...so tell him you’ll go.”

 

She does. And it’s almost infuriating how well the date goes. He’s so sweet and charming and funny and she absolutely hates it. Trev is so good and attentive and she can’t stop thinking about _him_. With his stupid hair and stupid blue eyes and stupid incredibly skilled fingers and mouth.

 

_What is happening to her?_

 

Trev even pays and when they’re done he drives her home and walks her to the front door. He kisses her softly on the lips and she doesn’t even feel a single thing.

 

She drags herself to her bedroom and throws herself back against her bed, eyes closing as her hand disappears between her thighs to the thought of _him_.

 

_God, she is so fucking screwed._


	4. four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments are appreciated! let me know what you love...what you hate...what you think will happen next. I love to hear it all!

She hates the feeling she gets in her stomach the next morning. That god awful, gut wrenching feeling of anxiety. (It’s the same feeling when she misses a deadline. It’s the same feeling she gets when she looks at her mother.) She got home last night from a date, a _wonderful_ date. And as soon as her head hit the pillow she guiltily put her hand between her thighs to the thought of another guy. It almost felt wrong. She followed all the movements he usually makes, but still. She’s never done this. He’s the only one who has ever touched her there. She can’t explain why she feels as though she did something she wasn’t supposed to do, _like she touched something that didn’t belong to her._

 

She knows she’ll have to see him this morning. He always makes a point now to meet her in the Blue and Gold office before classes, a habit she loved, but now wishes he didn’t have. She knows he’ll ask how the date went and she can’t even tell him that it was terrible because it _wasn’t_. Trev was nothing short of a gentleman all night. And yet she still went home and for the first time in her life touched herself to the thought of a boy she’s known since she was four.

 

_How is she supposed to face him today?_

 

It’s no surprise that he’s already there before she is, leaning against the wall and tapping his cigarette out the open window before bringing it back to his lips. His legs are crossed, the heel of one boot pressing to the front of the other.

 

“Morning.” She tries to sound true to her usual tone of voice, but the tension in the air is making her feel suffocated as though her throat is dry. She sets her bag down on the desk, looking up when he doesn’t respond. His lips are pursed as he blows out his last puff of smoke, flicking his cigarette out of the window.

 

“Mhm.” He nods in her direction as acknowledgement to her greeting and she thinks that might be all she’s getting out of him for today. But then his mouth opens again to ask the dreaded question she knew was coming.

 

“How was your date?” His tone of voice doesn’t express any real interest, but the question still makes her nervous.

 

“Fine.” She wishes she wouldn’t have answered so quickly. It makes her sound irritated. _Which she is_ . But she doesn’t want him to know that she is. Because she shouldn’t be. Trev was a great date. She shouldn’t be mad about that. _Except that she is because her mind and body keep betraying her and ache for this arrogant, leather clad dumbass in front of her_. Fourteen years ago she was sitting with him in the bathtub after Alice found them ankle deep in mud. Ten years ago they were fighting over who picked the movie during sleepovers and pushing each other restlessly in the middle of the night while cramped in that twin bed he still has now . Four years ago he lifted her up and kissed her cheek every time Archie obliviously hurt her. Last year around this time she wasn’t even speaking to him. And now? Now they’ve crossed boundaries friends shouldn’t cross. Now he fucked her with his hand and put his head between her thighs after school on weekdays. Now she went home at night and touched herself while she thought about him. And are they ever going to be able to come back from this? She doesn’t think so. She doesn’t know if she wants to.

 

“Yeah?” He smirks at her rushed out answer, eyebrows raised as he uncrosses his legs and stands up straight.

 

“Yeah. He’s nice.” She nods, forcing her lips into a smile in hopes he’ll believe her and just drop it already. _But he’s a journalist for Christ’s sake._ He isn’t Jughead if he doesn’t ask her a thousand questions.

 

“What’d you do?” He’s playing it off as though he casually wants to know. But she knows that he can most likely tell she’s flustered and he’s just trying to get a rise out of her. He’s always had a thing for teasing the hell out of her and it’s equally part annoying as it is endearing.

 

“Nothing. We just had dinner and then he dropped me off at home.”

 

“ _That’s it_?” His eyebrows raise again, stepping closer to her. She feels like she can’t fucking breathe.

 

“We uh...well he...he kissed me. And then I went to bed.” Which is technically true. She just didn’t go to sleep. But she’s stumbling over herself like an idiot, though even if she wasn’t he’d always been able to read her well enough to know when she’s lying.

 

“Yeah?” He can’t shake the stupid grin off of his face.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Just went to bed. Nothin else?”

 

“What are you asking?” When he steps closer again, she backs against the desk, knocking into it clumsily as though she’s trying to escape him.

 

“You’re all flushed, Cooper. What did you do when you got home?” He’s standing right in front of her now, the both of them breathing the same air as her skin grows hot.

 

“Went to sleep.” She squeaks out. God, she is such a bad liar.

 

“You sure? Didn’t do anything else?” The back of her thighs are pressed to the desk as his hand skims under her dress, hardly bothering with being a tease anymore and pressing his hand firmly between her legs. Her eyes lock with his, his middle finger putting a little more pressure than the rest. She worries her bottom lip with her teeth, and he’s mesmerized by the pretty length of her lashes as she blinks rapidly and her breathing shallows. His hand moves back up for just a moment, pushing past the band of her underwear before she even has a chance to whine. His knees almost buckle at the way she immediately wets his fingertips.

 

“Didn’t touch yourself, Betts?” His finger so easily slides back and forth and he’s infatuated with the little gasp she makes every time he pays any amount of attention to her clit.

 

“No, I-“ She can’t think straight and she knows it’s so obvious that she’s lying but she can hardly care. Her hips roll forward to chase after his hand, his fingers moving so slowly that she thinks she’s going insane.

 

“What were you thinking about, Betts? What were you thinking about while you made yourself come?” One hand of hers grips the edge of the desk, knuckles turning white, while the other fists his jacket, fingernails biting into the leather as he finally manages to pick up the pace.

 

“I was...I...I didn’t-“ She’s not even really sure what she’s saying anymore or why she’s even bothering to lie. He knows. She knows he knows. But her mouth is nowhere near connected to her brain right now.

 

“Betty, what were you thinking about?” His finger slides over her clit one more time before going back and pushing knuckle deep into her. She gasps sharply, his nose nudging the side of her cheek, his whole arm jerking forward as he makes one quick movement before slowing back down again.

 

“Jug, I-“ She feels herself tighten around his finger.

 

“Though it’s more of a question of who...isn’t it?” _This little shit. He knows it’s him. He knows. Why is he doing this to her?_

 

“ _Did_ you make yourself come?” She shakes her head, her teeth gnawing at the inside of her cheek.

 

“Why didn’t you come, Betty?” Her lips part and then close again, unable to find the right words.

 

‘I...I-”

 

“Betty.” His jaw clenches, tone of voice dropped until he sounds like he’s almost angry with her.

 

“I-I felt guilty.” He huffs out a small laugh at her response.

 

“Juggie please, I wanna-“ She’s so, so close. But the building feeling disappears in an instant at the absence of his hand. He takes his finger to his mouth as he usually does. He never wastes a drop of her.

 

“I don’t know if you deserve it.” The idea of her touching herself turns him on more than he can ever describe. But then again he can’t push away the possessive feeling he has over her. He wants to be the only one to touch her. He wants to only ever be the one to know the look on her face as she comes. He only ever wants her to come at his hand. Nobody else’s. And not without his permission. He knows he’s told her before that they weren’t together. Yet she still feels like his. He hates the way it comes across as though she’s property. Because she’s not. But he just wants her to only be his. His to laugh with and his to touch and his to...love? And god, does he feel like an asshole right now.

 

“But-but Juggie-“ Her voice is raised to some pathetic whine, but she doesn’t care about the way she sounds right now in the slightest.

 

“You will never come unless I tell you to. And you wanna know why, Betty?”

 

“W-why?” She chokes out.

 

“Cause you’re _mine_. Cause this right here-“ He presses firmly between her legs one last time.

 

“-is _mine_.” He pulls away from her and by the time she opens her eyes again he’s left her there, cold and trembling as the bell rings.

 

—-

 

Paying attention in class for the rest of the day was hardly an option. She’s been frustrated all day, annoyingly wet between her legs as she presses them tightly together in hope to find any sort of relief. By the time she reaches the trailer she’s had enough of waiting. She’s impatient as it is about most things. But this is so much worse.

 

She doesn’t knock or text him to let him knows she’s here. She never does anymore. She just walks in and kick her shoes to the side. Nowhere to be found, she knows he must be in his room, but before she makes her way, she pulls her thoroughly soaked underwear down and off, bunching them in one hand. She finds him lounged on the bed, boots kicked off to the floor, white t-shirt rising slightly so she can see that little strip of skin just above his jeans, his jacket thrown over the back of his desk chair. Her eyes linger on that strip of skin, attached to what she remembers Kevin calling a happy trail, that little trail of dark hair that disappears into his jeans.

 

“ _Betts-_ “ He snaps her out of her daze and she looks up, finally stepping out of the doorway. Her hand opens as she drops her underwear onto his chest as if she was saying, _look what you did, asshole_. He swallows thickly bunching them into his hand like she had and holding them for a moment before tucking them into the pocket of his jeans. His fingers then reach out to curl around her wrist, pulling her down on top of him and rolling her to the side as she giggles, holding her between him and the wall. He kisses her once, gently, lips barely brushing hers.

 

“I’ve been aching all day, Juggie.” She whines, keening against him.

 

“Your own fault.” His index finger taps the tip of her nose before continuing downward, pulling down on her bottom lip.

 

“I think it might actually be your fault.” She responds, but he stays silent. Another minute or so passes before she opens her mouth again.

 

“Are you gonna let me come, Jug? I’m going insane.” Her bottom lip pouts out.

 

“Jury’s still out.” His lips brush over her cheek, ghosting over her skin as he moves down her jawline.

 

“Please?” _Fuck, does he love to hear her beg_. But he’d like to torture her just a little longer.

 

“I don’t really know if you deserve it. I’ll let you know when I decide.” She pouts again at that and gets a look he can’t read in her eye before smiling at him sweetly.

 

“Ok. That’s fine, Jug. I’ll just lay here with you.” And she does. They stay silent for a few minutes as they lay there, his face still buried into her hair as they’re pressed to each other with not an inch between. At least those few minutes were innocent.

 

She’s laying on her side next to him and they’re pressed so tightly he wouldn’t have been able to not notice the movements she begins to make. She pushes her hand down between her legs over the fabric of her dress and he hasn’t opened his eyes yet, but he can feel as she moves next to him, he can feel the little short pants of her breath against his heated skin.

 

“ _Betts-_ “ He speaks through his teeth in warning, eyes blinking open slowly as he pulls his face out of her hair. His heart stops before speeding up till he can feel the pounding in his ears. His mouth runs dry and his jeans tighten uncomfortably. He watches as she presses between her legs and he decides that trying to be mad at her has no use.

 

“What are you doing?” He swallows thickly, his voice gruff.

 

“I need to make the ache go away, Juggie.” Her eyes open to meet with his, hooded and heavy with want.

 

“ _God…_ ” The original idea to tease her and hold off on her has completely slipped his mind. She lets out a strangled moan as he presses his lips to hers hard enough that her teeth hurt.

 

“Lemme see-“ He begins pulling the skirt of her little yellow sundress up, eyes transfixed between her legs as her fingers try to desperately to move in the way he usually touches her.

 

“ _Jesus Christ_ , Betty.” He can’t help himself, pulling her hand away and up to his mouth, lips wrapped around her two little fingers as she lets out a whine. They pull out with a pop and he positions her hand back down between her legs. She starts again slower than before and then slowing altogether as she looks to him with pleading, wide eyes.

 

“Can you do it? Please?” She wants him to touch her more than anything. Doing it herself is fine, good even, but she loves more than anything the way he touches her. Like he wants to make her fall apart and then put her back together all at the same time.

 

“No baby, I wanna watch you do it for me. Okay?” She whines again in response.

 

“But it’s not as good-“ The tone of her voice reminds him of a child who won’t take no for an answer.

 

“Why not, baby?”

 

“You make it feel better.”

 

“C’mere-“ He pulls her hand away from her, taking her fingers into his mouth one last time as he uses his other arm to haul her against him. They both still lay on their sides as he hitches her leg over his hip, tightly pressing onto her lower back to push her hips into his.

 

“I’ll ruin your jeans, Juggie.” Her hips roll forward despite her worried tone.

 

“I don’t care, Betts. I need to get rid of the ache too, because I am seconds away from fucking the shit out of you.” She nods, burying her face into the crook of his neck, her arms pushing under his to wrap around and grab tightly onto his shoulders.

 

“ _Jug-_ “ She whines out. He hums against her skin in response, stilling himself as he feels her arms pull away and her hands tug at the front of his jeans. He pulls back just an inch to get a look at her face, her lips parted due to her shallow breath, her neck flushed from where he smothered himself against her.

 

“C-can you pull down your jeans a bit? I wanna feel more-“ _Jesus Christ_. The material of his jeans was just thick enough so he couldn’t feel how wet she was, but removing them would easily solve that. He doesn’t know if its a good idea. Because it’s one less piece of clothing and then he’s only one thin layer away from burying himself inside of her.

 

“Y-yeah.” _He isn’t known for making good choices anyway_. He lets her unbuckle, unzip, and tug them down just enough, her leg hitching back over his hip as she presses back into him, her arousal immediately seeping through the fabric. The hardness of him against her leaves her breathless, her clit thrumming with the sensation.

 

“It feels _really_ good, Jug.” She gasps out as his hand presses harder onto her lower back, holding her so tightly against him she can hardly move. She whimpers, rocking her hips harder with the little room to move that she has.

 

“You’re really pushing it, Betts.” He chokes out, so turned on and worked up that it almost hurts. He pushes hard against her, knowing he isn’t gonna last long.

 

“Juggie? D-Did you know that...that my mom has me on the pill? That means you’ll be able to come inside of me, d-doesn’t it?” Her words are broken apart by the little gasps that leave her lips. He can’t fucking breathe. His heart is about to explode.

 

“Juggie? Can I come? You feel so good like this and I...I-“ She starts crying out but he cuts her off almost immediately.

 

“Come. _Come on me already before I lose the only restraint I have left and rip these off and fuck your tight and wet little c-_ “

 

“Oh my god-“ She stops him from finishing the vulgar sentence, all of the air leaving his lungs as her hold on him tightens, nails biting into his skin as she presses to him, sweaty forehead resting against his collarbone. He groans in her ear, but she stops him before he can let go.

 

“Wait, not yet Jug.” She cries, quick to reach down and pull just enough of him out of his boxers, stroking him like she’d only just recently learned to. She’s holding him close to her, pressing the tip of him to her clit.

 

“Come _on_ me, _do it on me._ ” She pleads. He almost hates her. She has his cock pressed to her clit and all it takes is for him to shift his hip a few inches to be inside of her. He so badly want to. If he didn’t give a shit about hurting her he’d be fucking himself into her pussy until she was raw right now.

 

“Elizabeth.” His eyes shut tight, losing himself in the way her small hand feels wrapped around him, pumping his cock till he comes all over her. Her eyes widen, fingers between her legs again as she touches the mess he made, fingertips wet with not only her come but now his too.

 

“ _Shit_.” He sighs, willing himself not to open his eyes before he actually winds up having a heart attack.

 

“It’s so warm. And there’s so much. What’s it gonna feel like when you-“

 

“You have no filter, do you?” She looks up at him with an innocent, dough-eyed look at his comment.

 

“ _No_! I just think a lot. And I have a lot of questions. But it’s okay cause you’re gonna help me find the answers to them.” He tries to find any hint of humor in the look on her face, but there is none. She genuinely wants him to come inside of her once they get to that point. How is he ever going to survive this?

 

“I _really_ think I might hate you.”

 

“Hey! Now that’s not true.” Her lips turn upward into a bright smile.

 

“Yeah...not in a million years.” He buries his face back into her hair and holds her tight.

 

——

 

They fell asleep only an hour after that. They’d cleaned up, got into more comfortable clothes (her in a t-shirt of his), talked aimlessly about everything and nothing and then passed out the second their heads hit the pillow on the suffocatingly small bed. She almost didn’t know where she was when she woke up, a small flash of panic running through her before she relaxed back into his tight hold. Her thumb runs along the sharp line of his jaw, moving to press down on his bottom lip as his eyes flutter open. Her heart swells at the sleepy smile he gives her, his lips pressing a kiss to the pad of her thumb. _Oh god, it’s now or never_.

 

“Juggie?” She says softly, her hand moving to push his curls out of his face, his eyes blinking slowly to a close.

 

“Mmm?” He hums contently in response.

 

“I like you.”

 

“I like you too, Betts.” He says it in a heartbeat. But she doesn’t think he quite understands what she means.

 

“No, I-“ His eyes open this time as the first word leaves her lips and suddenly it’s so much harder to breathe or talk or to think when he’s looking at her.

 

“I... _like_ you.”

 

“Betty-“ The serene, orgasm-dazed mood of the early morning shifts in an instant. Her face drops. _Shit_.

 

_Shit shit shit._

 

“I’m not-“ _I’m not good for you._ That’s what he wanted to say. That’s what she needed to understand. But there is anything but an understanding look that registers on her still flushed face.

 

“No...I...I can’t _believe_ I even…” He wants to hit himself in the head. She’s got the wrong idea now. But it’s his only way out. If making her hate him is the only way he can save her from the baggage and burden of shit he doesn’t want to put on her...then fine. She sits up, pushing the blanket down to her feet, moving quickly to pull his shirt over her head and toss it at his chest, grabbing her dress thrown over the back of his desk chair. She’s moving so fast that in his barely awoken state he can hardly keep after her.

 

“Just...just maybe we should call this off. Okay? Before it gets too messy and we can’t come back from it. We’ve been friends since we were four and-“ This is the only way. _This is the only way._

 

“ _Come back_? No one can come back from what we just did, Jug! You’ve...I’ve...we just-“ She’s stumbling over her words, pulling her dress back on and looking anywhere but his eyes.

 

“Betty-“

 

“No, I just...god...I can’t believe I was naive enough to even ask you to do this in the first place...just forget that I ever...I’m sorry.”

 

He was able to go through with this thinking he’d just be pathetically pining after her forever. But her feeling the same? _God, no._ He can’t. She would actually be his. And if she was his then he’d have to do so much more to fiercely protect her. On the Southside with his father in jail and him left here, being one of the most powerful also made him the most hated. And he couldn’t protect her from Penny. He couldn’t protect her from Malachai. So he lets her walk out the door.

 

_Of course. He had to fuck it up before it even really begun. After two years he’d finally gotten her back. And now he had to lose her all over again._

 

\-----

 

They haven’t gotten out more than a word to each other in over a week. She just felt so stupid. Yet again her naivety hindered her perception of reality. _She felt so fucking stupid_. And so she does her best with dodging him in the hallways and avoiding him by all means necessary. Everyday dragged on. She used to have something to look forward to after school. Not really anymore. It didn’t help that only a week has passed and there already rumors in the hallway that he’s fucking Toni Topaz. Kevin has been trying desperately to find out if the rumors were true, but being a Northsider didn’t exactly mean he got a front row seat to Southside gossip.

 

She tries picking up the old habit of dropping by the Blue and Gold office to avoid going home but of course with her luck and her luck only, the one person she wants to stray away from most desperately, sits on the bench right outside the office door. He looks about as good as he always does and she hates him for it, eyeing over his  leather jacket snug on his shoulders, white t-shirt, jeans. Why does he have to look this good? The universe is fucking with her. Only explanation.

 

“Your name is popular in the hallways these days.” He was right. She doesn’t really have a filter, she just opens her mouth and the first thing she thinks comes out.

 

“I...What?” She had really meant to ask what he was doing here, sitting outside of the office. He must have left something in there and needed her to unlock the door. She can’t really think of any other reason why he’d be here waiting for her after he’s been avoiding her all week. Even those she’s really been doing the same...

 

“That you and Toni are...um...you know...again.”

 

“ _Oh_.” His eyebrows furrow and he leans back on the bench, giving a slight shrug.

 

“What?” She tries not to sound too eager.

 

“That’s...not true.” _Oh thank god._

 

“Oh. That’s...that’s fine. It wouldn’t matter anyway.” She gives a slight shrug of her own, turning to pull the office keys from her bag, glancing at him before she unlocks the door.

 

“Why is that?” She doesn’t step through the doorway yet, adrenaline running through her veins at the way he’s starting to get agitated with her. She wants him to hurt the way she hurt.

 

“I don’t think Chuck is seeing anyone right now.” She finally pushes through the door and suddenly he’s on his feet, following right behind her.

 

“What does that have to do with anything?” His teeth grit together and she can tell that she’s getting on his nerves. She can see his face flush as he warms with anger. Good.

 

“Was thinking maybe he could help me instead.” Of course she would never, but he doesn’t need to know that. She wouldn’t dare ever associate with Chuck. Using him to bait Jughead though... _she could do that._

 

“ _Elizabeth_.” She’s surprised she doesn’t look to him to see steam coming out of his ears, his voice dropping to a forceful tone.

 

“What?” Her lashes bat innocently and his fingers wrap around her wrist, tightly and in an instant, pulling her through the office door.

 

“What’s wrong with you?” She tugs her wrist away from him dramatically as he slams the door behind them, rubbing her fingers over the reddened skin as her eyes narrow in his direction.

 

“Put the pieces together, Betts.” She stands there for a moment, confused. This time _his_ eyes narrow at _her_ . It clicks. _Oh_.

 

“Why didn’t you...you told me that we...I tried to...and you-” She’s always hated that she gets too flustered to ever form a coherent sentence, but she hates it even more now because she wants nothing more than to tell him off.

 

“I was scared, Elizabeth. For all I knew you were doing this to make Andrews mad and then you just-” He gestures his hand toward her.

 

“If you didn’t want to do me this favor then you could have just said so!” He scoffs at her. And she seriously wants to hurt him for making her feel so stupid right now.

 

“You kept...I can’t with you right now. _Favor_ ? Why do you keep saying that word? You are asking me to _fuck_ you, Elizabeth! That’s not-” She’s never heard him raise his voice like this.

 

“Then tell me no!” Her hands curl into fists, her fingernails biting into her palms.

 

“ _What_ ? You would have asked some ass on the football team. I _want_ to fuck you! That’s the problem!” His eyes close and his fingers knead deeply into his temples as though his head hurts.

 

“I wouldn’t have asked anybody else, Jug! _God_ , why are you so dense? Why is it even such a problem that you want to...am I that-” He doesn’t even let her finish the sentence. His eyes flicker down to her hands quickly before returning back to her face. He finally registers what she just said, his face twisting in disbelief.

 

“Don’t even fucking go there.” He points his finger at her almost accusingly and she slaps it away.

 

“Then what is your problem!?”

 

“ _Jesus_ , Elizabeth, I have feelings for you and...and I haven’t ever dealt with something like this before! I don’t...I don’t know how to-” He holds his head in his hands, backing away from her until he hits the desk.

 

“You...you-” She told him she liked him. And he didn’t even respond. He’d pushed her away. And now he’s telling her he feels the same?

 

“-Is this because you’re a Serpent and I’m a Northsider? Because seriously, Jug-” She thought this Northside, Southside shit was over once sophomore year ended.

 

“There’s a lot I can’t protect you from, Betty.” She recoils at that statement.

 

“I can take care of myself! _God_! You treat me just like everyone else!”

 

“I _do_ not. And you know that.” He rolls his eyes at her and she starts walking slowly toward him. With the way she’s looking at him he should fear for his fucking life.

 

“Then just stop it! I told you I liked you and then you...you-” Her eyes narrow again and her head is pounding and she wants to cry out of frustration.

 

“I _ran_. I know, but when things get good, I-” She watches his whole demeanor change. And suddenly the whole mood shifts.

 

“You can’t run from me.” Her eyes soften, her palm pressing to his cheek, heart wrenching at the way he leans into her.

 

“I’ve gathered that by now.” His voice is barely above a whisper now and all he can think is, _god, does he love her_. But she can’t know that just yet. Just admitting that they liked each other blew up into this much of a shit storm. _One step at a time_.

 

“I’m sorry.” He murmurs, burying his face into her hair as she presses herself against him.

 

“Juggie?” He can feel her shortening breath against his neck.

 

“Yeah?” He pulls back to look at her green eyes, lust filled as they turn into a swelling storm

  
“ _Take me home._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i think we all know whats coming up....


End file.
